The opinions of the people of the virtuous city Dar Ru'ya

Author's name: Al-Farabi Publisher: Ru'ya for Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2023 Literary classification: History Brief about the book: The book "Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City" by the philosopher Al-Farabi is one of the most important works in Islamic political philosophy. It presents an ideal conception of the state, inspired by Plato's philosophy, but formulates it within an Islamic rational framework. Al-Farabi divides society into virtuous and non-virtuous cities, and emphasizes that the virtuous city is one in which its members seek maximum happiness through cooperation in goodness and knowledge. The ruler in it holds a special position, being the philosopher-prophet, combining wisdom and Sharia. Al-Farabi also explores the nature of the soul, the afterlife, and political systems, comparing ignorant, corrupt, and misguided cities, considering that deviation by the ruler or ignorance leads to societal deterioration. The book combines Greek philosophy and Islamic principles, and is considered a foundational work in political and philosophical thought among Muslims. There is no disagreement among scholars of Al-Farabi's philosophy (died 339 AH / 950 AD) that the book "Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City" constitutes the main pillar of his philosophy, much like Plato's "Republic" (died 348 BC). Al-Farabi embedded his philosophy of existence, humans, politics, society, knowledge, and other philosophical topics in this book. Given the importance of this book in the history of Arab Islamic philosophy to this day, scholars of Al-Farabi's philosophy have focused their studies and research on this work, which prompted us to re-edit, verify, and publish it again. We also conducted a comprehensive and extensive study on its philosophical value and its active and influential presence among early Arab Muslim philosophers and how they benefited from it, as well as contemporary Arab scholars and orientalists, who are divided into two main groups: one that confirms his influence from Plato's "Republic," and another—including myself—that sees his originality and independence from Plato, establishing a distinct Islamic-Arabic philosophy in politics and society.